Santa Ana River

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT SANTA ANA RIVER

Paul Clinton Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and the county could face sanctions if they do not reduce polluted urban runoff flowing into the Santa Ana River. Among the tributaries that drain into the river, the Santa Ana Regional Water Control Board is targeting in particular a large storm drain in Newport Beach that empties into the mouth of the river at Seashore Drive and Coast Highway. "Storm drains are laden with bacteria," Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said.

When the Spanish colonizers of Southern California arrived here in 1769, they found a land that already had about a quarter of a million occupants. The indigenous tribes, the Shoshonean Indians, were spread out across the San Gabriel and Santa Ana valleys and the Los Angeles plains. Father Juan Crespi, who wrote the first history of the tribe, called the Indians "Gabrielinos." Local Gabrielino settlements included Moyo, which was north of the Newport Bay estuary, and Lukup, which was near the Santa Ana River.

A dinner recognizing the officers and board members of the Costa Mesa Historical Society will take place Jan. 17 at Orange Coast College. The guest speaker is Douglas Westfall, an author and teacher of American history. He will discuss the historical significance of Costa Mesa's bluffs that overlook the Santa Ana River. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. at the Captain's Table on the OCC campus, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa. Historical society President Bob Palazzola will also be reinstalled during the evening.

An advocacy group working to fight development at Banning Ranch is hosting a community meeting Thursday in Costa Mesa. The Banning Ranch Conservancy plans to update the public on its efforts, according to a news release. Endangered species like the California gnatcatcher and the cactus wren live in the roughly 400-acre site, according to the conservancy. The land, located east of the Santa Ana River and north of West Coast Highway, is currently serving as an oil field. A proposal awaiting California Coastal Commission approval would turn it into a mix of open, park, residential and commercial space, with consolidated oil field use. The meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Victoria Room at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa.

In the above editorial, we lament -- echoing a number of Newport Beach residents and even its City Council -- that a dredging project in the Santa Ana River is causing a run of problems. Residents are concerned about plans to spread the dredged sediment across the beach of West Newport, but their first choice for a solution is a costly one: as much as $2 million to cart all the gunk offshore. With that in mind, we want to express our dismay that $250,000 is going to study the prospects of building a bridge across the Santa Ana River (yes, the same one)

"To me, you would need to put an asterisk in that report. People should not be swimming in the Santa Ana River." -- Dave Kiff, Newport Beach assistant city manager, on high grades that Heal the Bay gave an area near the Santa Ana River mouth "I can't be Dave," he said. "I have my own style. I'm not saying it's better or worse. It's just different. It'll take some getting used to." -- John D. Hensley, Costa Mesa's new police chief, on how he'll be different from retiring chief David Snowden "[My son]

"We have a really warped sense of humor. We make it fun for adults and kids and try to get some messages out when we can." -- Colleen Hanson, on her Halloween-decorated Costa Mesa house "I'm always surprised with the amount of diversity in our schools. And seeing the statistics for the rest of the county and how well the students are achieving and learning, to me, it's an affirmation that we're on the right track." -- Dave Brooks, Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees member, at a meeting the state of education in the county "I don't understand why they have to have such a huge concrete capacity in the Santa Ana River as it goes through Orange County and why they can't do things like create a soft river bottom so that water has a chance to seep into the river."

Lolita Harper City leaders were reeling Monday after learning through the grapevine that Fountain Valley wants to study a contentious plan for a bridge at Gisler Avenue, despite a previous agreement between the cities to work together on an entirely different solution to traffic problems. "What?" was the first word uttered by most city leaders and various resident advocates Monday afternoon when they heard news of the plan by Fountain Valley to obtain $500,000 for the study of a bridge at Gisler Avenue and Garfield Street that would cross the Santa Ana River and connect Costa Mesa to Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley.

. CORRECTION: Banning Ranch was incorrectly identified as the source of a proposed access point for multipurpose trails along the Santa Ana River. The proposed site is actually in the Banning Flood Channel near Sandpiper Drive. The Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission faced a tough crowd Wednesday night, when elements of the Santa Ana River Trail Vision Study were met with vociferous opposition from neighboring residents. The study, part of a multicity initiative providing recommendations for habitat restoration and passive recreation activities along the river, identified a number of access points and other feasible recreational facilities that could enhance the river bank trail.

Paul Clinton Environmentalists are cheering the State Water Board's recommendation that three local drainage channels get federal Clean Water Act protection. State water board members included Buck Gully Creek, Los Trancos Creek and a 24-mile section of the Santa Ana River, which has been identified as a transport for bovine urine from inland dairies to coastal Orange County, on a list of impaired areas. The Environmental Protection Agency now is considering whether to add them to its Impaired Water Bodies, or 303d, list.